


Warmth

by CaineGreyson



Series: Something Old, Something New [5]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Obscurus (Harry Potter), Past Child Abuse, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 10:59:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8665009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaineGreyson/pseuds/CaineGreyson
Summary: Credence begins to doubt. The obscurus makes itself known.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you all for your amazing response to the previous part of the series- please be aware that this part contains possible triggers, so again, check the tags. And if anyone can't read but would like a quick summary, just send me a message and I'll help you out.   
> Hope you enjoy!

Mornings thus far have consisted of Credence, exhausted from lack of sleep, dragging himself out of bed and pulling on the warm Hufflepuff jumper Newt gave him on their very first day together in the case. He only wears it early in the morning and late at night, but it’s by far the most comfortable thing he has ever owned. 

When he goes out to the kitchen the kettle is ordinarily cold and Newt has left the case to make his daily appearance at breakfast. Whenever he returns, he brings Credence back something to eat- it’s usually far more food than he could possibly manage, but he feeds the leftovers to the creatures- and they have a cup of tea together before Newt goes outside to work. 

It’s a nicer start to his mornings than Credence is used to, and having food on the table makes a welcome change. He had found this new routine strange the first few days, and he’d preferred to hide in Newt’s room until he was safely out working, but now that he feels as though Newt is- well, a friend… it’s nice.

This morning is different. This morning Credence wakes up to the quiet thump of Newt’s heartbeat beneath his ear. He is pleasantly warm from the arms wrapped around his waist, and their legs are tangled together beneath the covers. It’s intimate, he thinks, and he wonders when he became so comfortable with things like this. 

He has never experienced this level of closeness- he’s certainly never shared a bed with someone, and if Ma knew that he was in bed with another man he’d get lashes he would never forget. She’d kick him out for good, even, and leave him on the streets to beg. 

Newt must feel the change in him, the sudden tensing of his muscles, because his hand begins to stroke warm circles across his back and Credence feels a gentle pressure against the top of his head- it’s a kiss, planted gently on his hair, and a little shiver travels down his spine at the thought. 

He doesn’t want to admit that it’s pleasure, but he’s never been very good at lying to himself. 

“Good morning, Credence.”

He moves off Newt’s chest as quickly as he can. He feels his cheeks burning with embarrassment as he carefully disentangles himself from the other man, blinking away sleep. He’s surprised when Newt takes hold of his hand and strokes his thumb across his knuckles. He’s even more surprised when he looks up, straight into Newt’s eyes, and sees that he’s hurt.

“Good morning. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- well…”

He trails off. He can see that all he’s doing is making it worse. 

Newt won’t meet his eyes anymore. Instead, he swings his legs out of bed and grabs his wand from the bedside table. He attempts some kind of wavering smile in Credence’s direction, but he still isn’t looking at him, not really, and Credence honestly isn’t sure what he did wrong. 

He had thought that Newt was just being kind when he’d wrapped him in his arms last night- he’d been crying like a child anyway, and he caused a scene. He’d made Newt go out of his way to help- and he’d been on his way to sleep- and that wasn’t even the worst of it. He’d taken Newt’s bed when he arrived because he was too weak, too fearful to be asked to sleep elsewhere, and Newt has probably been afraid of hurting him, or afraid that he would trigger the obscurus to emerge and then that would be the end of him and the world inside his suitcase. He’s just protecting his creatures, he supposes. 

Yes, that’s all his kindness is. Fear. 

Nobody was ever afraid of Credence, the New Salem boy. Everybody fears the obscuriel. He can’t decide which one he likes least.

“Are you alright, Credence?”

Newt. Always concerned, even when he’s hurt and probably afraid of Credence. He’d thought they were friends, he’d thought that Newt was taking care of him, but clearly that is not the case. 

Clearly, Credence has been taking advantage, and Ma has always said that greed and gluttony are the worst of the sins, and deserve the harshest punishments. 

He received the scars across the backs of his legs for taking bread from a baker. The loaves were burnt, he remembers, and he can still see the pity in the man’s eyes as he handed a young and starving Credence a blackened chunk of bread. He hadn’t thought that that was greed, but perhaps it was. 

Perhaps he has always been greedy, he just hasn’t seen it, and now he’s hurt Newt and taken things from him that he has no right to. 

Hands are on his shoulders, gentle pressure drawing him back to himself. He’s shaking with anger and fear and disgust- the sting of leather across his hand, whip-sharp. 

No, that isn’t right, there’s no belt, just Newt’s eyes boring holes into his own and tears coursing down his cheeks because more than anything else, he is weak- but Newt has tears in his eyes too. They’re spilling over now and Newt is saying something with great conviction, but Credence’s ears are ringing. 

They’re ringing the same way they had when that man called him a freak in the newspaper office. 

They’re ringing as they had when Ma threatened him, after he was caught with Modesty’s wand. 

They’re ringing exactly as they did when Graves told him that he was a squib, when he spat the word with disgust and left him standing on the stairs, hopelessly lost. Unwanted. 

His vision is darkening at the edges, and Newt looks panicked. He’s still holding his shoulders, shaking him back and forth, and now his words are more forceful than before. He is desperate, as desperate as he was when MACUSA pointed their wands and almost- almost-

“Credence, please darling, you need to calm down- breathe for me Credence! You need to listen to me- you’re stronger than this, I know you are. I’m begging you- don’t do this Credence, don’t let this defeat you!”

The shaking is worse now but he can hear Newt, his voice choking through tears, begging him to breathe, and he knows that he’s losing control rapidly- but Newt is there, his forehead leaning against his own, and one of his hands has moved to cup Credence’s jaw, while the other cradles the back of his head. 

He’s whispering soft words that Credence can’t make out, but something inside him remembers the grief and the pain on Newt Scamander’s face when he thought Credence was gone. 

He remembers seeing him lying on the ground, begging MACUSA to stop. 

Most of all, he remembers the joy on his face when he saw Credence, alive and well; the happiness when he had introduced him to the bowtruckle, what seems like years ago; his arm draping around his shoulders as he handed him a cup of tea; the daisy placed behind his ear after a much-needed embrace. 

He thinks of the journal still lying next to the bed, with flowers between its pages. 

And the shaking stops.

They stay pressed together for a long while afterwards. Credence hears the soft endearments and the warm, comforting words streaming from Newt’s lips, and when he feels steady enough, he lifts his hand and brushes Newt’s tears away with the pad of his thumb. 

The curve of Newt Scamander’s smile is enough to make him wonder if gluttony is really a sin, because seeing this smile would be worth sinning for.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I loved writing it! Originally, this part didn't exist and I skipped over the morning after their cuddle session and moved on to when they *gasp* leave the suitcase! But I've decided that there's some more that I want to do in this separate little world of Credence and Newt, safe from everyone else's meddling- please tell me if you'd like this idea, or if you want to me to move on!
> 
> Again, I'm so very thankful for all of your reviews and kudos, and it's so motivational to me so please, if you have anything at all to say, leave it below!


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